What caused Beautycounter’s abrupt closure?

Its a tough time to be in any business, but — on the surface, at least — the beauty industry seems to be thriving. Makeup tutorials are a flourishing trend, but it seems no amount of social media hype is enough to keep Beautycounter afloat.

The popular beauty brand abruptly shuttered its doors in mid-2024, leaving its frequent customers scrambling. There was no real warning of Beautycounter’s impending closure, which put its clients and consultants in a lurch. There’s supposedly something new incoming, but until that happens anyone with plans to load up on Beautycounter products may be out of luck.

Why did Beautycounter close?

For several years now, Beautycounter has been a top pick among its most loyal customers. The brand offers up a range of beauty products from typical makeups like blush, lipgloss, and lipliners to skin rejuvenation products like masks, body butters, and moisturizers.

Despite its impressive array of products and the brand’s dedication to safer and more sustainable products, its closing down. Or closed, it would seem, as no warning preceded the brand’s abrupt shuttering. It announced via social media in early May that Beautycounter was no longer in business, but it seems the brand’s higher ups already have their sights set on something new.

The exact reason for the brand’s closure is still up in the air, but The Carlyle Group, which owned the brand ahead of its sale back to founder Gregg Renfrew, cited “significant market and channel headwinds” over the last several years as the culprit behind the closure. The Carlyle Group subsequently sold Beautycounter back to its founder, and shortly after its shuttering was announced.

Former reps for the company discovered they were out of a job via a harsh email, noting that their contracts with Beautycounter were terminated, effective immediately. Customers found out in much the same way, but a lingering hope persists, thanks to the company’s insistence that a fresh, hopefully more stable, brand is incoming.

What comes next for Beautycounter?

Beautycounter itself appears to be over, but a visit to its website teases a future for the “safer, high-performing products” consumers know and love. According to a message from Gregg himself, “something new is on the way.” A new brand, leaning on the same products that made Beautycounter popular, will supposedly launch in “late 2024.”

In the meantime, popular Beautycounter products will continue to be available for purchase at state-side Ultas through July, and via Ulta.com through the remainder of the year. They may disappear as 2024 inches toward 2025, however, and with no hard reports about the future of the products, now is the time to load up on your favorites.